Ex-Marquette recruit to follow Crean, join Hoosiers next season

Convincing recruits to join the 2008-09 IU basketball team was not supposed to be this easy for Tom Crean, but IU’s new men’s basketball coach has struck again.\nOn the heels of receiving a verbal commitment from Indianapolis native Devon Dumes – he is expected to sign a letter of intent today – Crean announced that Alabama guard Nick Williams will be joining the Hoosiers next season.\nWilliams, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound combo guard out of LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala., originally signed to play for Marquette in November. After Crean accepted the IU head coaching position, Williams requested and received his release from Marquette. Now, the Alabama High School Player of the Year has chosen to follow Crean to Bloomington.\n“Nick really addresses a need for us and gives us a big, strong presence in the backcourt,” Crean said in a press release. “He is a winner who is tough and physical, and he boasts a work ethic that has helped him improve his game in a variety of ways each year.”\nWilliams is the ninth-best shooting guard and No. 35 overall prospect in the class of 2008, according to Scouts, Inc. The guard attended the Real Deal on the Hill tournament on the University of Arkansas’ campus this weekend. \nAfter narrowing his college choices down to IU and Arkansas, Razorback fans hoped his presence in Fayetteville would be a sign he would opt to play for the SEC team. Although they fell to the Razborbacks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers won the recruiting battle for Williams’ services.\nRecently hired IU assistant coach Bennie Seltzer received much of the praise for signing the Hoosiers’ latest recruit, a player who could see a lot of minutes as a freshman.\n“Bennie Seltzer deserves a lot of credit for being the one who recognized that Nick was a player who would be a great fit for our system,” Crean said. “I think Bennie’s efforts and his relationship with everyone involved proved instrumental in Nick becoming a member of the Hoosier basketball family.”\nWilliams averaged 21 points per game and earned All-State honors as a senior, according to the press release. \nNeither Williams nor LeFlore coach Otis Hughley returned calls from the IDS on Monday.